1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a sign holder having a removable front plate for displaying indicia. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a mechanism in a sign holder for temporarily securing a removable front plate to a back plate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sign holders that are secured to a wall surface having a back plate and a removable front plate for bearing an indicia are well-known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,027,086 to Brookey discloses an earlier version of this type of sign holder that includes a key for locking the front plate to the back plate so that the indicia cannot be changed by a passerby.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,277 to Larin discloses a sign holder having a front plate that slidingly engages with the back plate. The sign holder also includes a magnetic locking mechanism to lock the front plate to the back plate.
International patent application publication number WO 1998/037532 to Tyke discloses a sign holder that is similar to the one disclosed by Larin, in which the front plate slidingly engages onto the back plate. In the device disclosed by Tyke, there are end caps which attach to each side of the back plate to keep the front plate from sliding off or being removed.
The present invention seeks to improve upon the prior art by providing a sign holder system in which the front plate slidingly engages with the back plate using a concealed clip mechanism, as well as a concealed locking mechanism and key for selectively locking or unlocking the front plate from the back plate.